A STOURBRIDGE office block has been named as the long-promised new police base for the town – located just a stone’s throw from the original old police station building.

Around 60 police officers are set to move into Copthall House on the New Road stretch of the ring road, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has now confirmed.

Officers covering Stourbridge and Lye as well as the Dudley borough’s response team will be based at the ring road facing office block, which has its own car park.

The news has been welcomed by politicians who have expressed delight at the return of police to the town which has been without a dedicated police base since Stourbridge Police Station closed in 2017.

The former Stourbridge Police Station building in New Road which closed in 2017 and which has since been turned into upmarket residential homesThe former Stourbridge Police Station building in New Road which closed in 2017 and which has since been turned into upmarket residential homes (Image: Newsquest)

Newly-elected Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles (Labour) said: "I think I speak for everyone in the community when I say how pleased I am to see this police base come to fruition.

“Since the police station closed in 2017 I have campaigned hard to get a police presence back in Stourbridge and I'm pleased that Simon Foster, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and West Midlands Police listened to our community concerns.

“People want a visible police presence to make them feel safe and having our local teams based here instead of Brierley Hill will make a huge difference."

Police are expected to move into the redbrick office block over the next couple of months, the office of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster confirmed.

Mr Foster said it was “welcome news for the community of Stourbridge” to be able to return officers to the town as part of his pledge to rebuild community policing.

He added: “I am pleased that we are able to announce a new, 60-officer police building in Stourbridge town centre. This investment will ensure a police estate that is fit for the 21st century.

“The plan places significant importance on community policing and police officers here in the West Midlands, working in local communities to prevent, tackle and reduce crime, to keep people, families, businesses and the local community safe and secure.

“Local officers having a dedicated base, especially in a busy town centre, is important because it provides a reassuring – and visible – police presence for communities.”

Copthall House in New Road, Stourbridge.Copthall House in New Road, Stourbridge. (Image: Google Street View)

Stourbridge Town councillor Andrew Tromans said of the news: “I am delighted that under the leadership of Simon Foster, West Midlands PCC, Stourbridge now has a police base once again.

“Having a more visible police presence in the town alongside a continued focus on community policing will help reassure residents in Stourbridge and Wollaston.

“After 12 years of Conservative cuts it finally feels like our town is being invested in.”

Many venues had been looked at over the last few years to try to bring back a permanent police presence to the town including the former CAB building in Market Street, the Crystal Leisure Centre, the council offices in Mary Stevens Park and a site near Lowndes Road but plans for all fell through.”

Chief Superintendent Anthony Tagg, Dudley LPA Commander, said: “The new base is great news for our people and those we serve. It delivers on the promise we made them when we closed the old station – that we’d find a new home in the town.”